Spring Break, Portugal-StyleParis, Spring 2012

Upon flying into the Faro airport, we learned that our hostel was not in Faro at all, but actually in a neighboring fishing village called Olhão. We were happy to find ourselves in an adorable hostel right in the middle of the town, with a roof offering this view.

After dropping off our bags, we headed down to the water (about a 2 minute walk) to catch the sunset over the fishing port.

After a day and night in Olhão, we headed over to Lagos by a small train that ran along the coast. Definitely one of the most beautiful train journeys I’ve been on…

In Lagos, we were recommended to make a short hike out on the cliffs over the ocean to catch the sunset. The lighting was perfect, and the trail was lined in tall grass, wild flowers, steep cliffs, perfect blue green water, and a few horses.

The first half of my trip to Portugal was with these two friends of mine. I definitely had a good does of boys being boys on that trip.

Although the weather turned out to be a little bit cloudy on the day we had specifically alloted to hang out on the beach, we did get to explore the coves and waters of Lagos.

In Lisbon we rented an apartment from AirBNB where 5 friends and I stayed (one not pictured). It was small but really perfect, in a fabulous neighborhood, with a kitchen and plenty of beds!

Lisbon was beautiful, that’s all there really is to say on this point.

We took a train over to the western side of town where we got this view out onto the Atlantic. …The same view people centuries ago thought looked out over the end of the world.

Before heading to the airport on our last day, we stopped and got some traditional Portuguese Pastéis, tiny egg tart pastries.

During the third week of April, us IES Paris students get a week off to celebrate all our hard work with a good old fashion Spring Break. However, unlike my normal spring breaks from college, where I might drive from LA to San Francisco or make a few days trips to Malibu, this year I went to Portugal. Everyone came back at the end of the week with stories from every country in Europe (and even a few from Northern Africa), reminding me how darn lucky I am to be over here on this side of the Atlantic getting to experience any given new culture any given weekend. There are so many completely different places within such close proximity, exploring the continent is both relatively easy and hugely rewarding! So, here are some pictures from my trip to the Algarve and Lisbon.

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